


Samhain

by nightlight9



Series: Sterek Week 2019 [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Laura Hale, BAMF Laura Hale, Beta Derek Hale, Ghost Talia Hale, Halloween, Laura Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Mild Language, Post-Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Sheriff Stilinski is a Good Dad, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 16:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21256277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightlight9/pseuds/nightlight9
Summary: The ghost of Talia Hale has been showing up in Stiles’ bedroom on the night of Halloween for years. Normally their conversations are pretty normal. But when she shows up screaming about how her daughter is going to be killed, Stiles knows that he’ll do anything to prevent that from happening.





	Samhain

**Author's Note:**

> I've always like playing with the idea that Stiles meets Talia's ghost. This is what resulted from that.

Like always, Talia Hale shows up just after the sun goes down on Halloween night. Stiles, who has been expecting her, doesn’t react when she flickers into existence in the middle of the room. He has his legs thrown up against the wall while he lays sprawled across the bed, tossing a ball into the air and catching it before it can hit him in the face. 

Without looking over at her, he says, “I think I’m going to give up lacrosse. I know last year I was telling you that I thought it was perfect for me, but-.”

She cuts him off. “Stiles!” In all the years that he’s known her, Talia has been the picture of calm and steady, even when Stiles himself was in the midst of a breakdown. Hearing her frantic tone startles him enough that instead of catching the ball, his hand closes around empty air so it falls down against his forehead in an unforgiving wack. 

Rolling onto his side with a low keen whine, Stiles finally looks over at where Talia is watching him. Year after year, Talia has remained the same, frozen in death and perfectly composed. Now she holds her body with enough tension that her fear is visible, and there’s something wild in her expression. 

Her eyes are glowing red. 

“Whoa, hey.” Rolling over, he sits at the edge of the bed, reaching out towards her as though getting ready to put his hand on her shoulder. He makes sure not to touch her though. “Talia, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Even as he asks, the question gives him pause. He doesn’t know what _could_ be wrong with a ghost. He barely understands where Talia exists the other 364 days of the year when she isn’t occupying the space inside his bedroom (he’s still not 100% sure that she exists at all). But it’s obvious that something is very, very wrong.

At her sides, Talia’s hands flex. “You have to help them, Stiles. You have to save her.”

Swallowing, Stiles prods, “Who? Talia, who are you talking about?”

She isn’t looking at him anymore, and as she stares at the wall it’s clear that she’s seeing beyond his bedroom. Her gaze is very far away. “He’s going to kill her, that bastard. It’s been an act this whole time, and he’s going to kill her, and Beacon Hills will be doomed. My family, this land, he’s going to betray them and destroy it all.”

Raising his voice in the hopes of getting her attention back, he snaps, “Talia! What are you talking about?”

Quick as a whip and too fast to be human, she turns on him. Her lips are curled up into a snarl, revealing fangs instead of teeth. For the first time since her first visit, Stiles is afraid of her. “My daughter! That fool is going to kill my daughter! His own niece, Gods dammit!” Crumbling to the ground, Talia buries her head in her hands. “I’m useless like this. I can’t even warn them about what’s coming. You’re the only hope I have, Stiles. You can save her. You can save everything.”

Normally, Talia has enough energy that she’ll stay visible and present for hours before fading away again. Now though, her form flickers with her grief, power stripped from her rage. 

Carefully, Stiles folds himself down beside her, ignoring how his hands are trembling. As he watches her presence flicker, an anxious energy grips him. “Talia, please. Tell me what to do.”

When she looks up at him, her face is human again, and her eyes are sad. “Save them, Stiles. Laura, my daughter-. Save her.”

“I will, Talia, I will. But I need more information. What’s happening? Who’s going to hurt her? Where can I find her?”

Even as he’s talking, Talia is shaking her head. Her eyes have lost their focus again. He’s losing her. “Save her. I can’t-. You’re her only hope. They need you and you need them. This town needs all of you. Stiles, you will save everyone, or everything is doomed.”

Then, in a level of dramatics typically saved for bad movies, Talia disappears completely. 

And Stiles is left sitting on the floor alone, cursing a ghost. 

—————

Stiles was thirteen when Talia first appeared in his bedroom. It was the first Halloween after his mother died. His father had tried to get him to go out trick-or-treating, tried to make it seem as though nothing had changed. But Halloween had always been his mother’s favorite holiday, and Stiles didn’t want to do it without her.

Instead he locked himself in his room with his mom’s old horror novels, and cried to himself while reading her favorite stories. 

That’s when Talia appeared, flickering in to existence right in front if his bed. He had shrieked when it happened, throwing his novel at her in an act of defense. When it flew right through her body, Stiles had shrieked again. He had spent most of that first Halloween scared out of his mind, even as she explained about Samhain and thinning veils and magick. It wasn’t until the next day that he actually looked up everything that she had told him. 

Suffice to say, he was more than a little upset about what had happened, both because it scared him half to death, and also because the ghost of a strange woman showed up in his bedroom instead of his mother. 

The next year, Stiles was more prepared. He had been half convinced that he had had a fever dream the year before, but he was ready for her visit regardless of that fact. And, just as with the year previous, Talia appeared all at once, a quick flash into existence that startled Stiles even though he had been waiting for it. 

“Welcome back, ghost lady,” he greeted, voice trembling despite having spent months thinking about what he would say to her. “I appreciate that you’ve decided to haunt me, or whatever. But I would rather spend the evening with someone I actually know, like my mom. So if you could kindly return to wherever the fuck you came from, that would be awesome. Maybe send her my way if you get the chance.”

Talia had just blinked at him. “You lost your mother?”

Even though he was essentially talking to someone who was dead, it still hurt to say, “Yes, she died last year. Cancer.”

A sad, sullen expression pulled Talia’s moth into a deep frown. He expected some sort of apology seeing as that’s what everyone else responded with, why should a ghost be any different. But instead she just sighed. “If I knew how I got here, I would surely go and find your mother for you. But I don’t even know where ‘here’ is, or why it is I’ve passed through the veil, not once but twice in the same place.”

Even though a part of Stiles had been expecting it, the response still disappointed him. “Figured as much.” Luckily, he had had a year to get used to the idea that it might not be possible to talk to his mother, even if a random ghost showed up, so he recovered quickly enough and without the anger that Talia had been expecting. “Who are you, anyway?”

Without hesitating, Talia told Stiles about her life and what she remembered about how she died. Even though he was younger and less interested in what his father did at work, he still remembered the Hale fire enough to know that nearly everyone in the family had been killed. When he shared that news with her, Talia hadn’t looked surprised, so she was either hanging out with all her dead family in the afterlife, or she expected as much. He didn’t ask which was true, it didn’t seem right.

They did a lot of talking that year, about Talia’s life and Stiles’ mother; he had cried a bit too, but Talia promised never to tell. When she disappeared, Stiles felt a little lighter. He still didn’t understand why she showed up in his bedroom of all places, and it was still unfair that his mother never visited. But he felt a little better.

The next two years were spent in a more companionable way. Stiles caught Talia up on what his year had been like, asking her for advice that he could never get from his dad. And it was nice, being able to open up to someone who listened thoughtfully and responded with more than just a hum to pretend she was listening. 

There wasn’t much else to do other than talk. The second year they had tried to see if Talia could leave his bedroom, but as soon as she stepped out the door she reappeared in the center of the room. That meant that she was stuck in the room, and Stiles felt like it would be wrong to leave her alone. Besides, he enjoyed their evenings, so it wasn’t a hardship staying with her. 

After the second year, he had thought about reaching out to the remaining Hale family members, but decided against it. Aside from everything that Talia herself had told him about her and her life, he had no proof that their interactions were anything more than the result of an overactive imagination. Besides, he wasn’t even sure what he could have said to them. “Hey, your dead mom has been showing up in my bedroom on Halloween night for the past few years even though I never met her when she was alive,” just didn’t sound like something you could say to someone without them either punching you in the face, or calling the police to haul you away to a psych ward. 

Now he doesn’t have a choice. 

As soon as Talia disappears, Stiles gets to work trying to track down her children. He knows that only three people made it out of the Hale fire alive, having long since downloaded a copy of the police file onto his computer (it was worth nearly getting caught by some of his father’s deputies while he snuck around the office). Peter Hale, Talia’s brother was in a vegetative state as far as Stiles could remember, the trauma from the fire leaving him a burnt out shell of a human being. Laura and Derek, her oldest daughter and only son were the other survivors, and they’re obviously the people he needs to find. 

There hadn’t been anything in the file that explained what happened to Laura and Derek, who were only seventeen and fifteen when their family was killed. But Stiles has spent enough time on computers that he’s anything if not very efficient at doing research. Within a few hours, he finds out that the Hale siblings are living in New York. He’s managed to (illegally) scrounge up their address and the most recent phone number belonging to Laura Hale, along with various other information about what they’ve been up to in the years following the fire.

Even with the hours that he put into his research, finding everything out is the easy part. Because now he has to actually talk to them, and he has no way of making them listen. 

Before he gets the chance to make the phone call, his dad knocks on his door, peeking inside without waiting for a response. He frowns when he catches sight of Stiles at his desk, papers strewn around making it obvious that he stayed up all night on the computer. 

“Do I even want to ask,” John mutters, running a hand across his face. He looks tired. “You know what, I don’t. You’re getting a free pass today because I’m running late. Make sure you eat something, okay, Stiles. I’ll see you later.”

“Be safe,” Stiles yells after his dad, something he picked up saying years ago when his dad went in for his shift at the station. There’s a muffled response from down the hall, probably John’s typical, “love you too,” but Stiles has already turned back to his phone. 

There’s no time like the present, so he punches in Laura’s number and holds his breath. 

The first call rings four times then goes to voicemail, so Stiles waits another minute and then calls again. He knows he’s being an annoying little shit, but if it’s going to save her life, then he’ll be as persistent as it takes. 

As he hits the dial button for the third time, Stiles wonders if she’s at work and maybe that’s why she isn’t answering. He doesn’t have a chance to feel guilty about it though, because the phone clicks over and an annoyed voice is demanding, “What?”

Stiles swallows. “You’re not at work, right?”

“What? No, I-. Who is this?” Gods, she sounds like her mother. 

“My name is Stiles. I-. Well, I have something important to tell you, and it’s going to sound crazy but I promise it’s true. And it’s very important that you listen to what I have to say.”

There’s a long pause, and then Laura is saying, “I don’t know who you are, or what you’re playing at, but I don’t know any Stiles. I’m not even sure that’s a real name. So I’m going to hang up and-.”

He jolts up in his seat, banging his knee against the underside of his desk. “No! Laura, please, don’t hang up! I know this already sounds crazy, but this is really important!”

Even over the phone, the desperation in his voice is clear. He knows that she’s considering it. Finally she responds. “Give me one reason why I should listen to whatever you want to say.”

Hoping he’s not ruining everything, Stiles says, “This is about your mom.”

Over the phone, something crashes to the ground. Stiles faintly hears a male voice cursing up a storm, before a door closes and Laura says, “My mother is dead.” All the emotion has bled from her voice. Stiles knows all too well what she must be feeling. 

“Yeah, I know.” Tapping a pen restlessly against the table, he tries to figure out what to say. “She’s been dead for a few years, I know. But-.” Deciding to change direction, he asks, “What do you know about Samhain?”

“What are you talking about? What does Halloween have to do with my mother?”

“See, it’s a popular belief that on the night of Halloween, on the night of Samhain, the veil between the living and the dead is thin. And sometimes it’s possible to come into contact with the dead.”

Before he has a chance to say anything more, Laura is snarling. “If you’re implying what I think you are, you have a lot of nerve calling me.”

“Gods, you should just like her,” he mutters, throwing his head up to stare at the ceiling. 

“What?”

“Listen, I know it sounds nuts. And I’m not sure how I can prove to you that I’m being honest. I mean, Talia told me a bunch of stuff about you and your brother, but I don’t know if that will make you believe me. Just-. I talked to your mom last night. She’s been-. Don’t you hang up, dammit. Just listen. She’s been showing up at my house on Halloween the last few years. Most of the time she just hangs out, but yesterday was different. She was scared, Laura. Because something bad is going to happen to you. And she made me promise to try and stop it from happening, even though I haven’t quite figured out what the fuck I’m supposed to stop. All I know is that you’re in danger. Talia is afraid for you, and I will do everything I can to make sure you’re safe.”

The line is silent long enough that Stiles has to pull the phone from his ear to make sure the call is still connected. When he’s sure that she’s still there, he settles back into his desk chair and waits for her to say something. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

He’ll take her anger if it means she’s listening. “I told you, my name is Stiles Stilinski. I’m a junior at Beacon Hills High School. My dad is the sheriff here in town. When I was twelve, I lost my mom. That same year, on Halloween, your mom showed up in my room for the first time. It scared the shit out of me then, but I’m glad that she did if it means I can help save your life now. Besides, she’s kind of awesome, so…yeah.”

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing but-.”

Banging his hand against his desk, Stiles growls, “I’m not playing at anything, Gods dammit. I’m trying to save your life! Listen. I know that you cried when you lost your first tooth because you were afraid they weren’t going to come back and you didn’t want to look like your grandmother. I know that Derek hates moths, and that your younger sister Cora climbed up into a tree once and refused to come down until the whole family came out to sing to her. I know that your mom met your dad when she was in college, and she had never wanted to get married but as soon as he asked her out she knew that she was going to spend the rest of her life with him. I know that she cried when you were born because you were so beautiful. I know that she loves you and your brother more than anything, and I know that she burned herself out yesterday because she was so afraid something is going to happen to you.”

Her anger has been replaced with sadness, and she sounds far away when she admits, “There was this old folk song that my dad would sing to all of us when he put us to bed. Cora loved it. She made him sing it all the time, until I got sick of it and told her she needed to grow up and get over it. That’s why she climbed the tree. It made me feel so bad, seeing her up there, screaming about how awful I was. My dad made me put her to bed and sing it to her everyday for three months as punishment.”

He smiles sadly at the memory, not saying that he has already heard the story from Talia herself. “Laura, I know it’s crazy. But you have to believe me.”

“What did she say? What-. What’s going to happen to me?”

Stiles lets out a big breath of air, relieved that she’s giving him a chance to explain. He tells her all about Talia’s visit and her message, not holding anything back. 

“She said Peter was going to kill me? But, he’s-.”

“I know.” Rolling back over to his computer, Stiles pulls open the screen with Peter Hale’s medical report. “The most recent report says that there’s not been a change in his state. But Talia said it was an act. I don’t really know how that can be, but she was convinced he was going to come after you. Maybe he’s going to snap out of his coma and then hunt you down? She didn’t really give me a timeline for when this was supposed to happen, so I don’t really have any other information.”

“Stiles. Did my mom say anything else to you, anything about our family that sounded crazy?”

He blinks in surprise at the question, racking his brain to see if anything stands out. “No? I mean, she told me that you guys are all close, like your cousins and stuff stayed at the your house sometimes, but that’s not really weird.”

She exhales, sounding both relieved and surprised. “Okay. Okay, that’s okay. Listen, I need to go and talk to Derek about all of this. He kinda freaked out when he heard you say that you were talking to Mom. I will call you back though, I promise.”

He raises his eyebrows in disbelief even though she can’t see him. “I will call seven hundred times if you don’t,” he warns in all seriousness.

There’s a strained laugh that Stiles feels pretty good about accomplishing. “I’m sure you would. But I’ll call. Give me some time. Maybe a day? We’re in this together now, promise.”

He doesn’t really believe her, not really. But he lets her hang up anyway, demanding that she call him no later than tomorrow so that they can get everything figured out. He doesn’t really know how they’re going to make sure nothing bad happens to her, but he feels better knowing that she listened. Despite everything, she seems to believe him. And that’s all that matters. 

“That was good, Stiles. She listened. You’ve shared Talia’s message. She’s safe for now.” With that self assurance in mind, Stiles falls into bed to get some rest. After staying up all night staring at the computer and researching frantically, sleep comes easy. 

Hours later, Stiles is shaken awake by his dad, who smiles when Stiles blinks up at him. “I will never understand teenagers,” he says. “Staying up all night to sleep away their Saturdays. Come on, son, dinner is ready.”

Falling out of bed, Stiles grabs his phone and follows John downstairs. When he sees the pizza boxes on the table, he scowls, but John shrugs. “I have to head back to the station, and this was quick. I thought maybe we could let it slide for once?”

“Fine.” He settles into his chair at the table, yawning into the back of his hand. “Only because I’m tired. But that means that you don’t get bacon at breakfast tomorrow.”

John scowls. “It’s not even real bacon!”

Opening the nearest box and pulling a slice of pizza out, Stiles shrugs. “Turkey bacon has less fat, and you like it just as much so stop complaining.”

Hiding a smile, John asks, “Who’s supposed to be the parent again?”

Spitting his tongue out, Stiles doesn’t even try to respond. This is a tired argument, one that is more routine than anything else at this point. But Stiles has lost one parent already, he’s not going to let high cholesterol take his dad away too. 

While they eat, John flips through the paper and Stiles scrolls through his phone. There are no messages from Laura, but he doesn’t let that discourage him. He told her that he would give her until tomorrow, and he will. But as soon as he wakes up she’s getting a call, because he’s that much of a brat and this is something he’s not going to let go. 

As soon as they’ve finished dinner John leaves, heading back to the station for his second double that week. Stiles knows that the money helps, but he hates seeing his dad work himself to the bone for it.

Settling into the couch to unwind with some video games, Stiles puts Laura and Talia and everything out of his head. He needs a break, needs to be able to take a breath, and shooting zombies mindlessly seems like the perfect escape. 

He’s only been playing for an hour when someone knocks on his door, startling him enough that he misses his shot and gets overrun by a zombie herd. Cursing, Stiles pauses the game and gets to his feet. 

As he opens the door, Stiles expects to see Scott waiting on the other side. Instead a tall woman with bight green eyes is staring back at him. Wearing black skinny jeans, a blood red tank top and a leather jacket, she looks like the best kind of trouble. Stiles is simultaneously elated to see her, and so confused.

“What?”

Laura Hale offers him a sharp grin. “Stiles, right? Can I come in?”

Standing to one side, Stiles lets Laura in and then closes and locks the door. When he turns around, she’s already disappeared. He finds her in the kitchen helping herself to a slice of pizza, her backpack resting on the floor at her feet. Sitting on the counter in the pale blue kitchen swinging booted feet back and forth, she looks so out of place that Stiles almost laughs. Almost. 

“What are you doing here?”

Laura shrugs as best she can while shoveling food into her mouth. “It seemed easier to come here and figure this out in person instead of over the phone, don’t you agree?”

He blinks at her. “So what, you hopped on the first flight, just like that.”

“You made a pretty compelling argument. Besides, you said you didn’t know how soon this was going to happen. I didn’t want to waste any time.”

“What if I had been lying! Are you crazy?”

His indignation at her apparent lack of self preservation makes her snort. “I figured that I could take my chances against a high school kid.” She shrugs again. “Besides, I believe you.”

Stiles takes a moment to look at her, watching the way she stares back. There’s a defiant tilt to her head, challenging Stiles and measuring his worth all at once. Her lips are pulled tight together, a telltale sign of her anxiety. But otherwise she’s the picture of calm. 

“Okay.”

That actually catches her by surprise. “Really? Just like that?”

Honestly, he doesn’t know why she sounds surprised. She flew out here after one phone call from a stranger saying that he talked to her dead mom. If she actually believes him, he’s not going to try and make her change her mind. 

“Just like that.” Pushing the pizza box closer to her, he settles into his chair. She eats two more slices before hopping off the counter and joining him at the table. “Derek was mad he couldn’t get on the same flight as me. There was only one seat available, and I needed him to take care of some things for me before he left.”

It shouldn’t surprise him, but it does. “Derek’s coming here too?”

“He wasn’t going to let me go if he couldn’t come too. We don’t-. It’s just him and I now. We stick together.”

It makes sense when she puts it that way, and he doesn’t blame Derek for demanding to join. If someone said that Scott was in danger, Stiles would do anything to help him take care of the threat, and they aren’t even siblings. 

“Where are you staying?”

Laura tilts her head to one side thoughtfully. “Haven’t figured that out yet, honestly. I’ll probably crash at the motel or something. I was thinking about checking out the old house, maybe trying to see if I can pick up any hint about what’s going to happen.”

Immediately, sirens ring in Stiles’ head. “No way. Nope. You’re not doing that. Have you ever watched a horror movie! You can’t just go alone and expect everything to be alright. You can stay here tonight, and then we can go out tomorrow and see if we can find anything. We’re doing this together, that’s what you said. It can wait for one night.”

Surprise paints Laura’s expression. She watches Stiles closely, as though trying to see through him. He lets her look her fill. When she’s done, she smiles. It’s a razor’s edge. “I like you, Stiles. I can see why Mom would feel comfortable confiding in you.”

Puffing out in pride at the approval, Stiles doesn’t dare point out that Talia didn’t really get to choose where she turned up. Even though they’re strangers, Stiles feels like he knows her. Hearing her say that means a lot. 

“What about your dad? Won’t he be concerned that there’s a stranger staying in his house?”

“He’s at work right now and he will be until morning. When he gets home, he’ll probably head right to bed, without even looking toward the guest room.” He shrugs. “Besides, I’ll text him and let him know someone’s staying over. He won’t ask questions.” At least not right away, but Stiles figures that he’ll have figured out something to tell him by then. 

“Okay.”

He grins at her. “Just like that.”

She grins back, and Stiles thinks that this might be the start of a beautiful friendship. “Just like that.”

—————

Just like Stiles had thought, John doesn’t ask questions about who was staying over or why they showed up so late. And as soon as he gets home, he heads right to bed, well before Stiles wakes up. Laura gets up before him and takes it upon herself to make breakfast. When Stiles stumbles downstairs to join her, he nearly asks if she was raised by wolves considering she just gets into his things without asking. But breakfast looks good and he doesn’t want to offend her so he keeps his mouth shut.

They make plans to head over to Peter’s rehab facility to check in on him and see if they can get a sense of what’s going to happen. Stiles doesn’t really want to, the whole place gives him the heebie-jeebies, but he knows that it’s the best place to start. 

Before they get the chance to leave though, Laura stiffens up where she’s sitting beside him on the couch lacing up her boots. Moments later, someone knocks on the door. 

Stiles glances at her, but all she does is shrug and put her attention back on her boots. Deciding not to question it, Stiles gets up to open the door.

The guy waiting on the other side may actually be prettier than Laura, which is saying something because she’s drop dead gorgeous. Like her, he’s wearing a pair of jeans skinny enough that Stiles wonders how he got them on, and a leather jacket. His beard is tidy and looks soft to the touch, and his eyebrows are little caterpillars of doom that Stiles wants to touch. He decides immediately that the Hales are going to kill him with their good looks, and, as he stares into Derek’s iridescent eyes, he thinks he’s okay with that. 

Stiles doesn’t even realize how much time has passed until laughter breaks apart their staring contest. Laura drapes herself across Stiles’ back in an easy, familiar way and grins at Derek. “Hey, little brother. I didn’t expect to see you for another few hours.”

His eyebrows pull down a little more, and Stiles resists the urge to coo at his disgruntled expression. “I didn’t want to leave you alone longer than necessary.”

Laura snorts at him. “Please. Between you and Stiles I don’t know if I’ll be able to go anywhere in this town alone.” Derek raises his eyebrows in Stiles’ direction. He puffs out his chest, trying to make himself look bigger. The act makes Laura laugh and smack at his back. “Okay, you two can stop your weird, silent conversation. You’re both brave and macho and I’m so lucky to have you. Can we go now?”

Stiles laughs at her dry tone, reaching back to grab his keys. “I guess we’ll take my car, if that works for you both. I mean we can take one of the rentals if…” turning around, Stiles frowns when he sees that there are no extra cars waiting in the driveway. “Um. How did you guys get here?”

“I took an Uber,” Laura says, hooking her arm over Derek’s shoulder. They look like twins standing so close together. “Derek, on the other hand, probably ran here, because he’s a barbarian.” She laughs gleefully when Derek makes a noise of protest, skipping back towards the jeep. Stiles is amazed that someone so full of life can be, if Talia is right, in danger of being killed. She seems too vibrant to die. 

Noticing that Derek is staring at him again, he meets Derek’s questioning gaze and shrugs. “Come on, big guy. I don’t need your sister breaking into my car.” Without thinking, he reaches out and pats Derek’s chest. At the action, Derek makes a bewildered sound, his eyebrows climbing high on his forehead. Stiles ignores him, and by the time Derek recovers, Stiles is already at the jeep, unlocking the door and humming softly to himself. Laura is watching Derek with the shit-eating grin he hates, so he ignores them both in favor of climbing into the backseat. 

Stiles waits until they’re buckled in before starting the car. He puts the car in reverse. “Okay, Peter, here we come.”

Laura picks up on the lack of excitement in his voice. “I know you don’t want to go there, but I need to see him for myself. Plus, if Peter is the one who’s going to come after me, I might as well let him know I’m back in town, right. That way this’ll happen on our terms.”

“How do we know for sure it’s going to be Peter?” Derek asks, watching out the window as the town rolls by. 

Stiles sighs. “I mean, honestly we can’t say for sure it is. But when Talia said that Laura was going to be killed, she said ‘he killed his own niece.’ That leaves Peter as our only suspect. It’s not fool proof, but it’s what we have to go on.”

Derek makes a thoughtful sound but doesn’t respond otherwise, and Stiles finds his eyes drawn to his figure in the rearview mirror. 

“When we get there, I’m going to go in alone.” Laura’s says to the immediate disapproval of both Derek and Stiles. “It will be better if Peter thinks I’m alone. That way we’ll have the upper hand if he decides to attack.”

“You’re insane if you think I’m letting you do this by yourself,” Derek snarls, sitting up in his seat. “What if he attacks you?”

Laura scoffs. “Peter is smarter than that. If he is going to try and take me out, then he’ll wait until he can get me alone. Do you honestly think he’s going to blow whatever cover he has here to try and kill me where there are witnesses?”

Even though Stiles sees where she’s coming from, he still doesn’t like it. “Let me come in too.” She starts to protest, but he raises his hand to cut her off. “Peter doesn’t know who I am, so it’s not like he’ll think I’m working with you. Besides, I’m not planning on going into the room. I want to get into one of their computers and check out the notes on his file. I was able to get a copy of the file itself, but sometimes nurses will write notes separately on them. Maybe I can find something useful. Derek, you can come with me, if you want. You can be the lookout.”

Derek looks less than excited about being backup, but Laura shakes her head. “Derek needs to stay in the car. Peter can’t know he’s here with me.”

Stiles wants to protest. He could use another person to help him, and it’s not like Peter would know Derek was there unless he went into his room. But Laura’s voice is steely, and Stiles won’t argue with her.

“What I don’t understand,” he says instead while he pulls into the parking lot of the care facility, “is why Peter is going to try and kill you anyway. It’s like Talia said, you’re his niece. Why would he wake up from what is essentially a coma to come after you.”

Neither Laura nor Derek says anything, but there’s something in their silence that says a lot. They know why Peter would try and kill Laura, or at least they think they do. But they’re not willing to share what they know with Stiles. It’s frustrating, knowing that they’re leaving something out. Laura had said that they were going to do this together, but they’re holding back. He understands that they’re still practically strangers, but this is literally life or death. And Stiles has already pledged himself to helping them. 

He doesn’t press though, and if either of them pick up on his frustration, they don’t offer any explanation. Laura turns to Derek instead, expression firm. “Stay here. Got it.” Grumbling, Derek drops his head. Laura nods, satisfied, and opens her car door. “Stiles, let’s go."

He looks back at Derek once more before he follows after her. She waits until he’s beside her to start walking. “When you finish your research, come back to the car. I’ll meet you and Derek there when I’m done.”

“You know, if you know something that can help us, I won’t say anything about it.” He doesn’t look over at her while he says it, keeping his voice calm and as devoid of any emotion as he can manage. 

She sighs. “I know. Just-. For now, don’t worry about it. Let’s get this over with, and deal with that later. Okay?” He doesn’t say anything, just holds open the door for her to walk through. She reaches out and touches his wrist gently. “Stiles, I trust you, okay. Both of us do. Believe me, that’s not what this is about.”

He meets her gaze, assessing what she’s saying. Even though he wants to demand more answers, this isn’t the time or the place. Besides, he believes that she’s being honest. She trusts him, and that means a lot. “Okay. I-. Okay. Let’s get this over with, alright.”

Smiling at him, Laura walks through the door. The air conditioning is a nice reprieve from the November heat, and the woman waiting at their welcome desk smiles in a genuinely friendly way that undermines the dread creeping through Stiles. 

“Good morning,” she says, voice as cheery as her expression. “How can I help you today?”

Laura matches her smile with one of her own, even though Stiles can tell that it’s not as relaxed or genuine. “I’m here to see my uncle, Peter Hale.”

The woman startles, fingers stuttering over the keys. “Peter? We were unsure if he had any family left.” Her smile grows. “It’s wonderful that you’ve come to visit. Please, have a seat while I get someone to take you to his room.” She turns as waddles away, and Stiles takes the opportunity to slip down one of the hallways, leaving Laura to her own mission. 

Stiles has spent enough time in the hospital to understand the layout of a facility like this. Slipping past some of the nurses by acting like he’s supposed to be there, Stiles heads to one of the empty rooms, closes the door, and gets on the computer in the corner of the room. 

It takes him several minutes before he can unlock the system. Even though he’s been hacking various websites for years, this is a harder task for him to manage. He’s almost given up when the computer chirps approvingly and the patient guide pops up. 

Resisting the urge to shout in victory, Stiles types in Peter’s name and waits. The patient file that Stiles has spent hours combing through comes up and Stiles clicks on it, hoping that there will be some useful notes waiting for him.

The only thing that he really finds is that he’s had the same nurse for a few months, Sandy Lance. Her notes are shorter than others, curt and to the point, but there’s still something more familiar about what she writes. While the nurse before used the more professional title of ‘the patient,’ Sandy’s notes refer to him as ‘Peter.’

It’s not a lot. Honestly, it’s not anything. And even though Stiles is disappointed, he’s not surprised. Closing out of the screen and locking it up again, Stiles sneaks out of the room and makes his way back outside. 

Derek is leaning against the jeep with his arms crossed over his chest, looking pensive and brooding and extremely hot. He stands up a little straighter when Stiles walks over to him. “Well?”

Shrugging, Stiles settles in beside him. “Nothing. I couldn’t find anything useful.”

Humming, Derek goes back to staring at the door silently. With a sigh, Stiles pulls out his phone, responding to the message he has from Scott asking if he wants to hang out before he heads to work. When that’s finished, he opens his game to kill time.

“How was she?” Derek asks, voice soft. Stiles looks over at him from the corner of his eye. Derek isn’t looking at him at all. “Mom. How was she?”

Tucking his phone away, Stiles turns his full attention on Derek. “She was good. I mean, if I hadn’t of thrown my book through her body the first year she showed up, I wouldn’t have been able to tell she wasn’t alive.”

Derek looks over at him then, curiosity warring with the vulnerability in his eyes. “Should I even ask?”

Stiles laughs, angling his body so that he can lean his hip against the jeep while facing Derek. “I was reading a book of scary stories when she just popped into existence in the middle of my bedroom, scaring the shit out of me. Throwing the book at her was the only way I could defend myself.”

That makes Derek snort, and even though it's not a real laugh, Stiles feels good about managing to get an amused reaction from him, especially when the grief in his eyes is apparent. 

“I bet that made her laugh.”

Smiling, Stiles shakes his head. “I don’t even remember, I was too busy freaking out. I kept screaming and she looked like I was the biggest headache she had ever meet. It took hours for her to calm me down enough, and by the time I stopped freaking out her time was pretty much up. The next year was a lot better.”

“Did she-.” He stops, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Did she talk about it? About the fire?” There’s something in his voice, a layer of guilt that seems to be eating him away. It makes Stiles frown. 

“Not really. I mean, I grew up in Beacon Hills, so I remembered what had happened. But it wasn’t something we actively talked about. I didn’t want to bring it up and make her feel bad, you know.”

Instead of answering, Derek just hums, looking back toward the door. Even though he’s never been very good at caring about strangers, Stiles doesn’t like seeing the sad look on Derek’s face. Scooting closer, Stiles nudges Derek with his shoulder. “She did talk about you guys a lot though. She told me so many stories about you and your sister, I might know you better than you do at this point.”

That gets Derek’s attention enough that he turns his head to look at him. “Really?”

Stiles smiles. “Oh yeah. Like, she told me that you once refused to eat anything other than watermelon. You got so sick you wouldn’t eat it for another year.”

That makes Derek scowl. “I was five,” he grumbles. It makes Stiles laugh.

“And very stubborn, I know. I told you, I know a lot about you, Derek Hale.” He keeps his voice light and teasing, but Derek’s expression closes off and he turns back to stare at the facility doors, gaze intense. “Derek?”

“Laura.” He says her name like a warning, and Stiles turn to see Laura walk out of the care facility, face stormy.

Derek is on his feet immediately. “What happened?” 

“Get in the car.” It’s her only response. Glancing at each other briefly, Derek and Stiles hurry to obey her order.

“Peter is definitely putting on an act,” Laura says after the doors are locked. Her eyes are red rimmed and furious. “At first, I thought that Mom’s warning must have been wrong. But right before I left he laughed at me. His nurse tried to play it off, say that sometimes he would do that. But I know Peter. He thinks he’s pulling one over on us. He thinks I’ve delivered myself to him in a pretty little package.”

Stiles thinks about the notes he read. “I think maybe his nurse is working with him. Her notes are too informal, almost as if she knows him personally. I don’t really know how it would work, how they would be able to fool everyone at the facility, but it might be a possibility. It sure would be easier if he had someone at the facility helping him.”

Neither Laura nor Derek responds, and their silence speaks to whatever they’re keeping from him. He doesn’t let him bother him this time, can’t if he wants to keep helping them. Even though it doesn’t make sense, Stiles trusts Laura to be honest with him when the time is right. 

When they get back to the house, Stiles expects to have a few hours before his dad wakes up, giving him plenty of time to figure out what to tell him. 

He doesn’t get that luxury though. In fact, John is sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee when they pull into the driveway, so Stiles can’t even hide the Hales to avoid this discussion.

Sure enough, John is watching with a confused interest when Laura steps out the jeep. Before Derek and Stiles can get themselves unbuckled, she’s already crossing the yard with a friendly smile. 

“Mr. Stilinski! It’s good to see you again, how are you?”

Accepting her handshake, John briefly meets Stiles’s eyes over the hood of the jeep. “Laura Hale. Well, I’m be damned. I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Her smile widens. “Derek and I just got in. I thought it was time we came back.”

He blinks at her, then at Stiles, then back at her. “That’s good to hear. It’s been a long time. Um-. You wouldn’t have happened to stay here last night, did you?”

Instead of lying, which Stiles is hoping she’ll do, Laura nods. “Yeah. I got into town pretty late and Stiles offered to let me stay in your guest room.” Frowning, she glances back at Stiles. “I hope that isn’t a problem.”

John shakes his head. “Of course you can stay here. I was just-. I didn’t know that you and Stiles were aquatinted. I was just surprised.” He clears his throat. “Why don’t you kids go in and make yourselves some sandwiches or something.”

After he says that, Laura lets herself into the house and Derek follows after her. His fingers, where they’re clutching his backpack over one shoulder, are white. Stiles knows that he dad sees it, knows that he can read Derek’s unease, but he lets him go without comment.

Stiles doesn’t get the same thoughtful treatment. “Stiles? Can I have a word with you for a moment?”

Cursing, Stiles pulls the front door closed and leans against it, trying to act innocent. John looks like he doesn’t believe it for a second. 

“How do you know those two?” There’s no beating around it, John wants answers and he wants them now. 

“Laura and Derek? I’ve known them for years, Dad.”

He’s not buying it. “That’s crap and I know it.”

“You might think so, but-.”

“Stiles, I know that I’m not around much, but I know enough to tell when you’re lying. Scott has been your only friend for years, there’s no way you were hiding a secret friendship with the Hales.” Rubbing his face, he sighs. “Does this have anything to do with Halloween?”

Stiles starlets hard enough that his body jerks to one side, nearly making him fall over. “I-. What? What are you talking about?”

“Kid, just because I’ve never mentioned it before, doesn’t mean I don’t know how you’ve been spending your time every Halloween since your mother passed. Did you forget what I do for a living?”

His jaw drops. He can’t help it. “I-. You-. What?”

That actually makes John smile, just a little bit. “Stiles, when you turned down trick-or-treating that first year, I was devastated. Halloween was your mother’s favorite holiday, and yours too. I was broken when you turned down my offer, took her books, and hid out in your room. And then a few hours into your self isolation, I heard you screaming bloody murder and yelling about ghosts. So of course I went to investigate. You were so absorbed with Talia that you didn’t even notice me opening your door.”

Stiles’ head is reeling. “You’ve known this whole time?”

Shrugging, John settles back into his seat, looking solemn. “Yes. That first year I listened outside the bedroom while Talia explained what was going on, and it seemed crazy, but Claudia had always believed in the supernatural, so I went with it. Besides, I knew Talia when she was alive. And I could tell, without a doubt, that that was her in your bedroom.”

Moving across the porch, Stiles settles in beside his dad on the bench. This was one of his mother’s favorite spots. It feels right having this conversation in the spot she loved. “What about the other years? Did you listen in then?”

John laughs. “Not really. I did check in the second year, right at the beginning. I only stayed long enough to know that she showed up and that you were talking about Claudia. Your nights with Talia were your own. I’m just a little curious how it led you to Laura and Derek.”

He doesn’t know what to say. On one hand, he doesn’t want to lie to his dad. But on the other hand, he doesn’t know how he could tell the truth. Before he can figure out which route to go, the front door opens and Laura sticks her head out. “Sorry for interrupting, but Derek wants to know if you guys want a sandwich too?” There’s something almost too casual in her tone, and even though they’ve only known each other for a few days, Stiles sees what she’s doing. 

“Yeah, that would be great,” he says, meeting her eyes and nodding slightly. He won’t tell John the actual reason that they’re in town. He won’t give away her secret. She holds his gaze for a moment, then nods herself. 

“John?”

John watches the exchange, eyebrows raising. He doesn’t comment on it though. “No, I’m alright. Actually, I should be heading out. I’m meeting up with Melissa at the diner for some lunch before her shift.”

Stiles wants to tease him, but keeps his comments to himself. Laura hums in understanding and ducks back inside, and then Stiles is turning back to his dad. “I reached out to Laura after Talia mentioned she was worried about her and Derek. She was worried about how they were doing, so I found Laura’s number and pestered her until she listened to me.” He shrugs. “Now here they are.”

John is watching him closely, searching for a lie. He doesn’t find one. “Okay. Well, they’re welcome to stay here as long as they want.”

That’s a little bit of a surprise. “Really?”

Laughing, John drains the rest of his coffee and gives Stiles his mug. “Yeah, it’s no problem. They seem like a good bunch, and if they’re your friends, then I’m not worried.” His eyes soften. “Besides, it’s like I told you. I knew Talia before the fire. We were friends, of a sort. These are her kids, and it’s the least I can do to help look after them for a while.”

Hearing that makes Stiles proud. “I-. Thanks, Dad.”

Climbing to his feet, John reaches out and rubs his hand over Stiles’ head, reminiscent of what he would do when Stiles was still small. “Sure thing, Kid. Now, I’m running late. Will you do me a favor and pick up some more groceries? We’re going to need them if they’re staying here.”

Agreeing, Stiles watches as John gets in his car and drives away. It’s only after he’s gone that Stiles gets up and goes inside. 

Laura and Derek are waiting at the kitchen, a plate of sandwiches set in the middle of the table. Neither of them are eating anything, and Stiles feels a rush of warmth knowing that they waited for him. 

Taking one of the empty seats, Stiles reaches for one of the sandwiches. Only then do they pick one for themselves. “So my dad said that you can stay here, if you’d like.”As soon as he says it, Stiles is hit with a rush of anxiety that Derek and Laura might choose to stay somewhere else. Like so many other aspects of their relationship, he doesn’t know why he’s so worried about it, or why he cares so much, but he does. “I mean, you don’t have to, but if you don’t want to rent a room somewhere, it could save you some money.”

Laura reaches out and takes his hand, grounding him in a way that surprises him. “Stiles, Derek and I would like to stay here. It means a lot that you and your father have opened your door to us. We were both discussing the fact that this place, your home, is a place of comfort for us. Being back in Beacon Hills is hard. While we were in New York, we were unsure that we would ever come back here. But being here has showed us both that this is where we need to be. This is our home, regardless of the past we have here.” Her eyes are shining. “Regardless of the circumstances that have brought us back to Beacon Hills, this is our land. We belong here.”

Hearing that, Stiles relaxes into his chair. He decides, right then, that no matter what happens, these two people mean something to him. And even if it’s sudden, it’s something that he wants to protect, more than just looking out for Talia’s family. 

“Good. I-. That’s good.” He meets both of their eyes. “Then we better figure out what to do with Peter.”

—————

As hard as it is, they decide that, for now, the best way to handle Peter is to wait. They’ve already let him know that Laura’s back in town, and they have the upper hand waiting for his move. Stiles has played a lot of chess. He likes to think that he has a head for strategy, and he believes that waiting for Peter is the best course of action. Derek is hesitant to agree with him. He wants to take a more offensive approach. But Laura agrees that waiting to see what Peter does is a better idea. That way, if it turns out he’s not actually a threat, they don’t attack their only family. 

Besides, that gives them time to decide what to do if Peter does try and kill Laura. That in and of itself if a hard discussion. Laura makes it clear that, if he threatens her life, she’ll have no problem making sure the threat is eliminated. Derek isn’t as sure; Peter is their uncle after all. Stiles is just a little concerned that he’s not concerned thinking about murder being a viable option. 

He’s always been overprotective about the people he cares about. Whether that’s a result of losing his mother too young or whether it’s just an inherent part of his personality, he can’t say for sure. But he knows that he’ll always do whatever it takes to ensure that his loved ones are safe. Whatever it takes. 

And, as evident with what Laura said about being comfortable and how easy Stiles fits in with them, Laura and Derek are important. 

After that discussion, Stiles heads to the grocery store. He drags Derek along with him, hoping that being out and about will help him clear his head in a way that dwelling in the house won’t. Laura politely declines the invitation to tag along. Both Stiles and Derek make her swear she won’t step out of the house alone, and even though it makes her laugh, it’s obvious that their concern means something to her. 

“So,” Stiles says, pushing the cart ahead of him and looking over at Derek. “What sounds good for dinner?”

Derek shrugs. Since they got back to the house, Derek has seemed to retreat into himself. Aside from arguing with them about their plan, he hasn’t said much at all. Stiles is determined to to change that.

“Okay, tofu salad it is,” he says in a cheery tone.

Derek scowls at him. “Should I even ask what that is?”

Pinching his lips together to hold back a sarcastic grin, Stiles says, “Well. I mean, I think it’s pretty self explanatory. It’s tofu in a salad.”

“Chili is nice,” he grumbles, looking like it might actually pain him to admit that he wants something specific. 

“Oh, I make a bomb chili. Just wait, it’s going to blow your socks off.”

Rolling his eyes, Derek asks, “How old are you again?” It’s a teasing jab that makes it impossible for Stiles to hold back his grin. 

“I resent the implication of that question, Mister. Oh, lucky charms!” Reaching out, he grabs a box of the delicious sugary cereal and tosses it into the cart. 

“Like I said, how old are you again?”

Stiles spits his tongue out at him, enjoying how easy their banter is. The tension seeps out of Derek’s shoulders while they shop and argue about little, insignificant things. Stiles puts a small container of sliced watermelon in the cart, laughing when Derek growls at him and tries to take it out. By the time they’re standing in the checkout line, cart laden with supplies for several lunches and dinners, Derek’s shoulders are completely relaxed. 

Stiles feels pretty happy about accomplishing that. 

—————

They don’t do much else for the rest of the day. Laura is watching tv when they get back, and they join her without complaint. Okay, maybe there are a few complaints about what she’s watching, which leads to a battle over the television remote, but other than that everything is calm. 

When John gets back, he spends the afternoon catching up with Laura and Derek like he’s known them his whole life. Laura is relaxed around him, the picture of calm and content. She opens up to him about what she’s been doing in New York, and Stiles listens intently, enjoying hearing about her life. 

It’s harder for Derek. He sits uncomfortably beside his sister on the couch, expression shuttered. Even when he smiles at something Laura says, the light doesn’t reach his eyes. John seems to understand and he doesn’t push Derek to talk much, though he does ask him a few questions to make him feel like he is still a part of the discussion.

Laura is outgoing and open, and she command the room just by being there. Watching her with his dad, Stiles feels almost as if she belongs with them. He’s sure that it feels like that no matter where she is. 

But that being said, Stiles finds himself watching Derek more. He wants to know more about the heartbreak hiding in his eyes, wants to listen to him talk about himself for once. He wants to make him laugh when things get too heavy. He looks like he hasn’t had a good laugh in a while, and if their conversations by the car and at the grocery store are anything to go by, it’s hard to get past all of his walls. But, watching as he shrinks into himself while Laura seems to thrive, Stiles years to be able to get him to open up. 

Laura is telling John about the office she works in, bemoaning a coworker named Elaine who keeps stealing all of her best pens, Derek looks up and meets Stiles’ gaze. His eyes widen when he catches Stiles staring at him. Then, immediately, his eyebrows pull down. 

Stiles snickers and lifts his hand, waving at him in a cheesy way. Derek glares more, but Stiles sees the tips of his ears turn red with a blush, and so he counts it as a win. 

To accompany the chili, Stiles makes cornbread. When they settle around the table, Stiles can’t help but notice how nice it feels to have a full table. Sure, Scott and Melissa come over for dinner sometimes. And they feel like family. But this is good too.

Laura kicks Stiles under the table, beaming when she lets him know that cornbread is Derek’s favorite. Derek stutters and blushes, but he doesn’t deny it, and Stiles warms knowing that he accidentally got something right. 

After dinner, John heads up to bed. He has an early shift at the station and wants to get a few hours of sleep before going in. Before he goes though, he pats everyone on the head in a fatherly way, smiling when it makes Derek blush.

When he’s gone, Laura turns to grin at them. “So, you two have a nice night,” she says, getting up from the dining room table.

Derek scowls at her. “Where are you going?”

“Up to bed. I think John has the right idea about turning in. Don’t stay up too late though; Stiles has class in the morning.”

“Wait, where am I going to sleep?”

Laura raises her eyebrows. “With Stiles, obviously. I love you, bro, but I’m not sharing my twin bed with you.” She waves at them, looking a little too pleased by this turn of events. “Goodnight boys.”

They both stare at her, mouths open in surprise, until she disappears. Stiles turns to Derek. “How the hell does she expect me to go to school?”

Derek wrinkles his nose. “That’s the problem you have with this? The expectation that you do what you would have done anyway?”

Spitting his tongue out, Stiles finishes wiping off the countertops. “Yes, that’s what I have a problem with. This is literally life of death, Derek. And she wants me to go to school?”

“You’re a high schooler. Going to school is your only job.”

Stiles grumbles under his breath, trying to stay upset even when it makes Derek huff a quiet laugh. “Come on, broody. I guess you’re staying with me tonight.”

Derek scowls, but he grabs his backpack and follows Stiles upstairs anyway. Stiles lets him have the bathroom first. While he’s gone, he surveys the bed, trying to figure out how to make this work. On one hand, he knows that giving his bed up to Derek is probably the most polite thing to do. He’s Stiles’ guest, after all. But at the same time, it’s his bedroom. And he loves his bed. 

He wants to suggest they do what him and Scott do when he stays over, but he doesn’t think that asking Derek to share the bed with him would be a good idea. Derek would surely be uncomfortable with that. Besides, they’re still practically strangers, no matter how attached Stiles feels to Derek and his sister. With a sigh, he takes his pillow off the bed and tosses it on the floor. Derek might get to sleep on the nice mattress, but he doesn’t get Stiles’ pillow. 

He’s lounging on the floor scrolling through his phone when Derek comes back. His nostrils flair and he looks at Stiles like he’s offended. Stiles frowns at him. “Does it stink in here?” He takes a few sniffs himself, but if it does smell he can’t tell. 

“It smells like teenager,” Derek huffs. He crosses his arms over his chest, and though Stiles thinks that the action is supposed to be intimidating, it just makes Derek look vulnerable. “What are you doing?”

Stiles blinks up at him. “Um? Scrolling through twitter?”

“You’re not going to sleep on the floor, Stiles. This is your bedroom. You get the bed.”

He leans back against the pillow. “No, that’s not how it works here. You’re my guest, you get the bed.”

Derek narrows his eyes. “It’s your bedroom. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

“My house, my rules, buddy,” Stiles argues cheerfully. He gets up and pushes Derek toward the bed on his way to the bathroom. “It’s comfortable, trust me.”

He doesn’t wait around long enough to hear whatever Derek has to say (it probably wasn’t nice anyway). Taking a moment for himself in the bathroom, Stiles brushes his teeth extra slowly and tries to figure out what Peter’s plan is. It’s impossible to guess what he’s thinking, and that’s more frustrating than Stiles can handle. 

He finishes up in the bathroom without being able to brainstorm much of anything. When he gets back in the bedroom, Derek has taken over his spot on the floor. Stiles gaps at him. “You have a lot of nerve, Derek. A lot of nerve.”

There’s a shit eating grin teasing Derek’s lips. It makes Stiles’ heart thump uncomfortably. “Guess that means I win. You get the bed.”

He could probably give it up then, take the bed and call it a night. Except, he’s always been too prideful to roll over without a fight. So, after flipping off the lights, Stiles sits down beside Derek. He does his best to shove him over just enough that Stiles has room to put is head down on the pillow. Derek’s surprise makes it easier to move him; Stiles doubts that he would have been able to otherwise. 

“I-. You-. What are you doing?”

Stiles grins over at him. “Sleeping on the floor. You get the bed, or nobody does. It’s as simple as that, you asshole.” He swears that he can hear Laura laughing from the next room over, but does nothing more than raises his eyebrows expectedly.

Derek huffs. He reaches over Stiles to pull the comforter off the bed, and then lays back down. “Fine. Then I guess we’re both sleeping down here.”

Stiles shrugs as best as he can while laying down. “Guess so. Goodnight, Derek.”

There’s some shuffling as Derek gets comfortable. When he’s finally still, he says, “Goodnight, Stiles.” His voice is soft, and filled with warmth.

Stiles falls asleep smiling.

—————

“Going to school was pointless,” Stiles determines when he walks into the house, dropping his backpack by the door. Laura is sitting on the couch in the living room with a bowl of cereal. 

She blinks over at him. “Wow, you had that much fun, did you?”

He scowls at her. “Oh yeah. Tons.” He looks around. “Where is Derek?”

She smirks at him. “He’s in the backyard. Staying cooped in the house was driving him crazy.”

“When you finish your cereal, we can go out to your house, if you want. I know you mentioned looking around there, and we still have a few hours of daylight left.”

She’s already nodding before he finishes talking. “That’s a good idea. I know if Derek won’t agree, but I think it’d be a good idea to check things out there.”

“I’ll go talk to Mr. I-Think-Everything-is-a-Bad-Idea. You finish eating.”

Saluting him with her spoon, Laura turns back to the television. Stiles stops on his way to the backyard to grab a snack. He settles on taking a few of the carrots from the fridge. Then he goes in search of Derek.

Like Laura said, he’s out back sitting on the porch looking pensive. Stiles sits down beside him, knocking their shoulders together. “Laura wants to go to the old house,” he says, offering Derek one of the carrots. 

If it’s possible, Derek’s frown deepens. “I know. I don’t see why.”

“Woah, where’d that tone come from? Who pissed in your cereal this morning?”

Growling at him, Derek explodes into movement, pushing himself up off of the step and into the backyard. “Why are you doing this? Why do you care what happens to her? Why do you care?”

Stiles is so surprised, he drops his carrots. Disappointment makes his chest ache. He had thought that he was getting past Derek’s walls. “You know why I’m helping. Talia is kind of important to me, dude. And your her kids. You guys are important.”

Derek snarls, “We’re strangers! You don’t know us at all, and yet you’re here, helping plan what might essentially be out uncle’s murder!”

“Derek, where is this coming from? I don’t understand! You were fine this morning. Did something happen?”

Rolling his eyes, Derek pushes passed Stiles, disappearing into the house. Stiles stays there, staring at the empty backyard without knowing what to do. He knows deep down that Derek is right, which is probably why it hurts so much. They are strangers, and Stiles has already become too invested. 

Laura settles in beside him, looking guilty. “I’m sorry.”

He exhales sharply. “You heard?”

She bites at her lips. “Couldn’t help it. He doesn’t mean it, you know.”

That makes him snort. Laura reaches out and takes his hand, holding on tight. “I know that you don’t believe it, but I promise that he doesn’t mean it. The thought of going back to the house it-. We argued about it all day, so it’s my fault he’s in such a bad mood.”

“He’s right though. I don’t know you guys. Hell, I don’t even really know your mom. When she told me that you were going to be killed, I knew that I would do anything to help keep you safe. Then you guys got here, and I got attached. I-. It’s hard for me to care about other people. It’s hard for me to decide that someone is worth becoming invested. But with you and Derek, it was easy. I got ahead of myself, I guess.”

Laura tucks her head down on Stiles’ shoulder. “I wouldn’t say that. It means a lot to me that you care so much. It’s a nice change, having someone other than just Derek give a shit. And, for what it’s worth, I know that Derek is happy to have you around too. Don’t make that noise, I’m being serious. We both are happy to know you. He just really hates thinking about going back there.”

Deciding to believe her, Stiles squeezes her hand. “Well it’s real shitty that he’s taking that out on me.”

She snorts. “Yeah. It is real shitty.”

They sit there together for a few minutes, taking comfort in the close proximity. Stiles isn’t used to being so close to someone. Sure, him and Scott lost boundaries years ago. But they’ve been best friends for years. But it feels so natural with Laura. And Derek too, when he’s not being a huge ass.

“Come on,” Stiles says, squeezing her hand again. “We should get out there before it gets any darker. If Derek doesn’t want to come with us, he can stay here.”

Laura takes a deep breath and then pulls away from him. “Yeah, you’re right. He doesn’t need to come with us. I thought that he had stopped feeling guilty but-. I won’t make him go, I shouldn’t have pressed it.”

Stiles doesn’t know why Derek would feel guilty about the fire, and he won’t press. He lets the comment slide away while he picks up his carrots to take them back inside. Laura runs upstairs while Stiles gets his car keys and gets ready to go. She’s waiting at the front door by the time he’s finished. 

“Let’s get this done,” she says, expression fierce.

She leads him out to the car, climbing into the passenger seat without hesitation. Just before they pull out though, the front door opens and Derek steps outside. His expression is completely blank, but he walks to the jeep with sure steps. 

“Can I come with you?” He asks Laura through the window she’s rolled down. She raises her eyebrows at him, then inclines her head towards Stiles. “Please,” he adds, looking Stiles in the eye. “Please let me come.”

One part of Stiles wants to deny him. Even after talking to Laura, he still feels bad about what Derek said. But the other part, the more rational part, knows that they’re all safer when they’re together. 

Besides, he remembers what he was like after his mom died. He unlocks the doors. 

Exhaling, Derek says, “Thank you.” His voice cracks a little, and Stiles pretends that he doesn’t notice. 

The ride to the old Hale house is anything but jovial. Despite being determined to go there, Laura sits solemn in the passenger seat. Derek stares at his feet, doing his best impersonation of a concrete gargoyle. No one talks. 

While it’s not a place that Stiles frequents, he knows the way to the house by heart. It’s possible that everyone in Beacon Hills knows how to get to there. 

As they drive through the preserve down the dirt path to the house, Stiles half expects Peter to jump out from the trees to attack Laura. Of course, that doesn’t happen. And all too soon, they’re sitting in the car before the burnt remains of everything that Laura and Derek ever loved. 

Inhaling, Laura seems to steel herself. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“What exactly are we looking for,” Stiles asks, not taking his eyes off of the front door.

From the corner of his eye, he sees her shrug. “Anything that might show that Peter has been here. Anything useful.” She opens the door. “Come on.”

Stiles follows after her. Derek stays in the car. 

It feels stranger, walking behind Laura as she leads him inside her childhood home. He’s never gone inside, has never even felt tempted to pass over the threshold, even after meeting Talia. It seemed almost disrespectful, thinking about it. But walking with her, he doesn’t let himself feel guilty about disrupting this space. All he cares is about is making sure that Laura is okay being here. Reaching out for her, Stiles takes her hand. She holds on tight. 

“This doesn’t feel like my home anymore,” she whispers. “Not without them here.”

He tightens his grip on her hand. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

They move through the house together, cataloguing everything as they go. Every so often, Laura has to stop and pull herself together. Stiles doesn’t complain. He knows what it feels like, walking into your house for the first time knowing everything has changed. Years might have passed, but that’s what Laura is feeling now. 

They don’t find much. Actually, they only thing that their search turns up with are a few charred memories. There are no signs that Peter, or anyone else, has been there in years. 

“Let’s go home,” Laura mutters when they finish going through one of the bedrooms upstairs. Stiles lets her lead them back to the staircase. He watches as she runs her fingers along the banister as they head toward the door. He doesn’t say anything about it. 

Derek is sitting on the porch when they make it outside. He staring at his hands. Laura lets go of Stiles and sits down beside him, pulling at his arm until he crumples against her. Stiles walks past them and gets in the jeep, giving them the space to grieve together. He can’t say for sure how long they sit out there pressed together, but eventually they get back and make their way over to the jeep.

“Let’s go home,” Laura says as she climbs into her seat, voice wet with tears. Wordlessly, Stiles obeys, driving them back to his house without commenting. As soon as the jeep is in the driveway, Laura is out of the car and in the house. Stiles stares after her in surprise. 

“That was dangerous,” he mutters finally, putting the jeep in park and shutting it off. Derek snorts, but doesn’t offer anything else. It makes Stiles roll his eyes. He doesn’t wait for Derek to get out, going inside to start dinner. Laura is no where to be seen, but when Derek slips inside and goes upstairs, he assumes that she must have barricaded herself in the guest room. 

Dinner is a quiet affair. Even though John isn’t there, they don’t discuss Peter or Talia’s warning. In fact, they don’t talk much at all. Laura excuses herself as soon as she’s done eating, going back upstairs to shower and go to bed. 

Derek lets himself into the backyard wordlessly, and Stiles cleans up the kitchen before going to his room to get some homework done. It takes some time, but eventually Derek joins him. It’s awkward, being in the same room alone together. Neither of them seem to be willing to mention what had happened in the yard, but Stiles is still bothered by it. And he wants to say something, but at the same time he knows that Derek is hurting and he doesn’t want to push him.

It’s not until after they’re both ready for bed and back laying on the floor that Derek finally breaks. “I’m sorry. About earlier. I didn’t mean it.” Stiles rolls over to look at him, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Derek mirrors his position, laying across his arm and looking Stiles in the eyes. “Laura and I had argued all day about whether going back to the house was a good idea.” He keeps his voice soft. “I couldn’t understand why she thought that it was important, and I didn’t want to go.” He exhales. It’s a shaky sound. 

“Do you remember when I asked you if Mom had mentioned the fire?” Stiles nods, confused by the change in topic. “It’s because I was afraid that you knew what had happened. Stiles, I’m telling you this because I want to, okay. I want you to understand where I was coming from earlier, so you can know how sorry I am.

“When I was fifteen, this older woman seduced me. She was beautiful and funny, and she told me that I was important. I thought that she loved me. I snuck her into the house to spend more time with her, told her everything she wanted to know about my family. She manipulated me,” he looks like he only sort of believes that, “then she killed most of my family. I know what the police report says, that it states the cause of the fire as inconclusive. But that’s what happened. And I didn’t want to go there and remember what she had done, what I had helped her do without meaning to. And you got caught in the crossfire. I’m sorry. I’m happy that you’re here and you’re helping us. It means a lot that you care about us and about Mom.”

When Derek finally trails off into an uncomfortable silence, Stiles decides not to give a shit any more and reaches for him. He drags Derek over enough that he can wrap him in a hug, mostly draping himself across Derek’s chest, in an only slightly uncomfortable way. His heart aches, and he doesn’t know what to say. Obviously, Derek seems to be working through the mountain of guilt he’s been carrying around for years, and telling him that it’s not his fault probably wouldn’t mean anything. And pressing and asking questions (like just who the hell this woman is so that Stiles can set _her_ on fire) wouldn’t help at all. So he does what he seems to do best, latches himself on to Derek and refuses to let go. Muscle by muscle, Derek relaxes back against the floor. 

“I forgive you,” he says finally, pulling back just enough that he can lay beside Derek but maintain a firm line of heat from where their bodies are pressed together. 

Derek makes a choking sound. Very slowly, he reaches out and takes Stiles’ hand in his. That's how they fall asleep.

—————

“I keep seeing Peter’s nurse all over town,” Stiles tells Laura and Derek after his dad leaves for work. They both frown at him. “I swear that she was sitting in a car outside the high school this afternoon. I mean, it might just be a coincidence, but I think it’s kind of weird.”

Laura purses her lips. “Maybe she’s trying to lead us to Peter. If they are working together, she might be trying to lure us to him.”

“We should follow her,” Derek says, voice fierce. Both Laura and Stiles gap at him. “What? Wouldn’t it be the best idea to try and figure out just what she’s doing?”

“By potentially walking into a trap? That doesn’t seem safe at all.”

“It’s the only thing we have right now. It’s been four days. How long are we supposed to sit around and wait for Peter to attack?” He runs a hand through his hair. “Listen, it’s like you said, we have the upper hand. We know what Peter is planning. But if he never gets the opportunity to attack, we’re just going to keep sitting here, twiddling our thumbs. Sandy seems like the best chance we have of actually figuring this out.”

Stiles bites at his lips, contemplating it. Derek is right, and he doesn’t like it. If the sour look on Laura’s face is anything to go by, she agrees with him too. “We have to find her first,” she says slowly. “And we have to be careful moving forward. We can’t let Peter get one up on us.”

Derek doesn’t look happy that they’re finally agreeing with him, but he looks determined. “Then maybe it’s time that we let her find us.”

—————

They go to the ice cream parlor on the edge of downtown Beacon Hills, because it’s a popular area and all the tension makes Laura want to stress eat. She orders an ice cream Sunday and devours it with a ferocity that it a little frightening (the man who helped them seems to agree, seeing as he had been checking her out when they had first come in and now he looks vaguely horrified). 

Stiles almost doesn’t think that it’s going to work. And then he catches sight of a small red Honda parking beside the jeep. 

“She’s there,” he mutters under his breath. They all turn and watch as Sandy climbs out of the car and locks it up. She doesn’t look in their direction as she walks away, but something about her slow pace seems to be expecting that they follow. 

As a group they get up and throw away their ice cream. By the time that they make it outside, Sandy is walking across the street. Laura goes to rush after her, but Derek grabs her arm. 

“I’ll trail her,” he says in a voice that is impossible to argue with. Laura looks ready to try though, so he turns on her. “You need to go back to the house where it’s safe. This isn’t something that we can do together. It’s a one person job.” He wheels on Stiles. “And you might actually be the least sneaky person I know.”

Stiles gaps at him. “I didn’t say anything. And I resent that you think I’m not sneaky.”

Derek rolls his eyes. “Stiles, you are way too loud and clumsy to trail anyone. I can handle this.” He looks back at Laura, his expression open and vulnerable and full of resolve. “Laura, let me do this. Please. I can handle it.”

Reaching out one shaky hand, Laura tucks it against Derek’s jaw. He leans into it briefly. “I know that you can, Derek. Just-. Be safe, alright. And as soon as you figure out what she’s up to, you come back to the house. Do you understand? We don’t need you to be a hero, okay?”

It’s an intimate moment between a sister and her brother, and Stiles feels bad about witnessing it. He tries not to pay attention, tries to make himself seem smaller while they talk. It probably doesn’t work, but he hopes that it’s enough. 

“I’ll promise I’ll come back. Be safe.” Derek looks at Stiles. “That means you too, Stiles. Be safe. I’ll see you guys soon.”

Without waiting for anything else, Derek hurries in the direction that Sandy disappeared. Stiles hopes that he manages to find her. At the same time though, he hopes that he doesn’t. They’re all safer when they’re together, and even though Talia’s warning wasn’t about Derek, that doesn’t mean that he won’t get hurt.

“Come on,” Laura says, voice steely. “Let’s get back to the house. We can wait for him-.” She trails off, turning to stare at the forest behind the ice cream shop. 

Stiles nudges her arm. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head and takes a step toward the trees. “I hear something out there. Just-. Stay here, okay?”

Stiles wraps his hand around her wrist. “Like hell. We go together or we don’t go at all. Two is better than one, remember. I'm trying to keep you alive, not send you off to your doom. Should we call Derek back?”

Laura shakes her head, eyes locked on the forest. “No time. Come on.” She drags him forward. Immediately, shadows envelop them. The sun has set enough that the woods feel menacing and unfriendly. Stiles can tell that this is a bad idea. Laura pays no mind to the fact that his nails are digging into her arm. She keeps pushing deeper into the trees.

There’s a yell from somewhere to Stiles’ right. It’s the only warning he gets before claws dig into the tender flesh of his arm, shredding through his skin like paper. He screeches, stumbling into Laura while pain whites-out his vision. 

Laura steps in front of him, a roar erupting from her loud enough that the trees around them seem to shake. Right before his eyes, Laura shifts, fangs pulling her mouth open, her eyes turning from green to a glowing red. All Stiles can do is laugh at the sight, hysterical both from the pain and from the situation. “Oh Gods, is that a genetic thing! I thought it was something your mom could do because she’s a ghost!”

Shoving him further behind her, Laura doesn’t offer any response. Her attention is focused solely on Peter, who stands across the clearing watching them. Blood drips from his fingers. 

“Hello Laura,” he purrs, voice making Stiles’ skin crawl. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Peter, what do you think you’re doing?” She sounds different, talking through fangs, as though she was talking with cotton balls in her mouth. “We’re family.”

He snarls. “You left me here, burned out and alone! Do you have any idea how excruciating it was, healing from my burns, how painful it was to be locked inside my head knowing everyone else was gone! Your brother murdered my family, and you left me to deal with it alone. You don’t mean anything to me anymore!”

They begin circling each other, slow and calculating. Stiles does his best to stay behind Laura, tripping over his feet as they go. 

“You’re being absurd. Derek didn’t kill anyone. Kate Argent did, and you know it. You can’t blame us for what you’ve become.”

Peter laughs. “Oh, can’t I? I’ve spent years doing just that. Nothing you say is going to change that. You may be an alpha,” he hisses, eyes narrowing, “but you aren’t mine!” Without preamble, Peter launches himself at Laura. She’s ready for him, meeting him the center of the clearing, jaw snapping. 

They meet in a flurry of claws and growling. It’s insane, watching as Peter’s claws tear into Laura’s arm, only for the injury to heal before Stiles’ eyes. He wishes that his own injury could mend itself so easily. Instead, pain lances through him every time he moves, blood spilling onto the ground. 

Faintly, Stiles hears shouting in the distance. He takes a few steps in that direction, already knowing who it must be though he can’t quite make out their words. 

“Derek! Derek, we’re here!”

“Laura!” Derek’s voice is frantic as he runs through the trees toward them. 

Stiles is unsteady, stumbling back from where Peter and Laura are snarling at each other. Blood spills over his fingers as he grips his arm. “Derek! Hurry!”

Derek comes into view moments later, stuttering to a halt when he sees Stiles. His eyes catch on the blood dripping from his fingers. It’s like he can’t look away. And it makes Stiles feel kind of nice, seeing the concern painting Derek’s expression in anguish. But now isn’t the time. “Derek!” He snaps his gaze up to look at his face. “Derek, I’m okay. I’ll be fine. Laura needs you right now.”

Just like that, Derek is nodding and moving around him, stepping into the clearing like a man hellbent on vengeance. If Stiles wasn’t in so much pain, he would be a little turned on from the confidence in his stride. 

Stumbling back far enough that he’s out of the way, Stiles lowers himself to the ground as best he can while cradling his arm. From here, he can’t see the fight, but he can hear it. Every so often there’s a groan or a growl, but mostly he hears bodies being pushed around. He can’t tell how much time has passed before he hears the fight stop and silence rings though the forest, demanding to be heard. 

Stiles wants to get up and check on his friends, wants to make sure that everyone is alright. But when he tries to stand his arms refuse to push him off the ground and his legs won’t support him enough to accomplish anything. The effort leaves him spawned back against the trunk of a tree, white spots blinking in his vision. 

It’s probably only minutes later even though it feels like hours when Derek and Laura come into view. Even with the pain, they are the best things that Stiles has ever seen. 

“You made it,” he mutters as best he can, words feeling thick and hard to pronounce.

Laura nods and offers a small smile. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

“And Peter?” She grimaces. It’s answer enough. “Good. You’re safe now. Everyone is safe. Aside from me, maybe? I don’t feel very safe.”

“I can’t believe he went after you,” Laura mumbles, a frown pulling her lips down. “Jackass.”

Derek bends over at Stiles’ side and gently cradles him in his arms. When he stands up again, Stiles tries the best he can to scoff. “You don’t have to carry me like a bride on her wedding day,” he mutters, sinking in to Derek’s chest. The pain is fading away, leaving him tired. He pats at Derek’s shoulder. “Actually, this is nice. I’ll be your bride, Derek. You can hold me however you want.”

Laura chokes out a laugh, and Derek blushes. “Just hold on, Stiles. We’re going to get you to a hospital, okay?”

Closing his eyes, Stiles lets Derek’s warmth surround him. He feels so safe. “Whatever, husband. You can take me wherever.”

He falls asleep before Derek has a chance to reply. 

—————

Stiles knows where he is without even opening his eyes, and it’s only partly because of the drugged haze that he pulls himself out of. The smell is more of a tell than anything else; he spent long enough sitting in hospital chairs at his mother’s bedside that he’ll probably be able to recognize the sterile smell for the rest of his life. 

It would be easy to let the drugs pull him back under, sleeping away whatever put him in this bed. But then he remembers where he was when everything went black, and he flutters his eyes open to see what’s waiting for him. 

John is sitting at his bedside, which isn’t a surprise. His eyes are filled with concern, and he sits with his arms crossed over his chest as if ready for a fight. Stiles feels a rush of guilt knowing that he’s been sitting here worrying about his son. Stiles never wanted to be the reason that his dad had to wait in a hospital again, and even though he doesn’t know what Derek and Laura would have told him, he feels guilty about it all the same. 

As if reading the thought from his mind, John pinches his lips together in a pensive line and asks, “Really, Stiles? Werewolves?”

He blames it on the drugs when the statement makes Stiles pout. “That’s not fair. They told you about it before they told me.” His voice is high and whiney. 

Laughter from the corner of the room makes Stiles realize that he isn’t alone with his dad. Laura is leaning against the window, a grin making her expression sharp. “It was kind of important that we let him in on the secret, seeing as we brought you to the hospital with animal slashes all over your arms.”

He turns his pout on her. “And I was helping you hunt down your werewolf uncle! I feel like I deserved to know.”

At that, Laura shifts her eyes away, looking guilty. “I know. We should have told you. It wasn’t fair to keep you in the dark for so long. You got hurt because you didn’t know what you were getting in to.”

Stiles snorts. “I would have been there with you anyway,” he says, both to make her feel better and because it’s the truth. “Pshh, werewolves, shmerwolves.”

John sighs and shakes his head, asking the world for strength to deal with his drugged up son. “The important thing is that everyone is alright.”

Stiles is both surprised and proud of how well John seems to be taking everything. His voice is calm and sure, and he obviously isn’t mad enough at Laura to kick her out of the room. He doesn’t blame her, and Stiles is glad for that. Because Laura and Derek are important to him, and it makes him happy, knowing that his dad is okay with them and their secret. Thinking about it, Stiles sits up further and looks around.

“Where is Derek?” 

John rolls his eyes. “I had to kick him out of here,” he says, reaching out to push Stiles back into the bed so that he doesn’t hurt himself. “He needed a shower and something to eat, but didn’t want to leave you.”

Laura snorts. “He threatened to have security come and escort him out.” She looks over at John, eyes bright. “It was kind of amazing.”

Puffing out his chest, John says, “Well, he wasn’t going to leave otherwise.” He softens when he looks back at Stiles. “But he’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

Stiles grins, leaning back into his pillows with a content sigh. “I knew he liked me,” he mutters. “Tried to be all grumpy, but I got under his shell.”

Laura’s eyes soften. “Yes,” she mutters, smiling over at Stiles in a fond way. “You really did.”

Stiles doesn’t stay awake long enough to see Derek when he comes back in. It’s enough knowing that he will be there when Stiles wakes up again. It’s enough knowing that Laura and Derek and his dad are safe. 

—————

Stiles is sitting up in bed, staring at the painting on the wall with a pensive expression when Derek comes in. Stiles doesn’t acknowledge him. He’s been in the hospital too long. His thoughts are starting to consume him. 

Settling into the chair pulled up to the bedside (the nurses stopped trying to move it back to the side of the room days ago), Derek watches him for a drawn out moment. Finally he asks, “Fascinating picture?”

It’s not, not really. It’s a painting of a buffalo in an open field, and there’s nothing very fascinating about it. He keeps staring at it all the same. “Do you think that they change the pictures?” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them. 

Derek doesn’t seem bothered by the strange question though. He tilts his head to the side and look over at the buffalo, considering it. “I imagine that they do,” he says finally, drawing the words out. “Why?”

Stiles startles at the question, looking over at Derek and wondering if he should elaborate on what he had been thinking. With a sigh, he does. 

“It’s just-. I spent a lot of time in the hospital room with my mom. And there was this picture on the wall, some mountain scene that wasn’t anything spectacular. But-. I can’t help but wonder if it’s still in that room, pressed behind the glass in the frame while someone else dies looking at it.” He clears his throat, blushing slightly. “Sorry. That’s kind of grim. It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about. I can’t-. I’ve been here too long.”

Derek isn’t startled by the depressing line of thinking. In fact, he still has a deep, considering look on his face. “Would it bother you if it’s still there?”

It shouldn’t. It’s just a picture in a hospital room. And yet, “Yeah. I think it would. I know that stupid, but I guess I associate that picture with those days I stayed with her, you know. And now she’s gone, and that stupid picture might still be there, and it bothers me.” He scrubs his hands through his hair, wincing at how greasy it feels. “I need out of this place, I’m going to go crazy.”

“How much longer do they want to keep you?”

The question makes Stiles groan. “Who knows! I should have been released days ago! It’s just some stupid scratches!”

A choked snort erupts from Derek. He doesn’t look embarrassed about the sound. “A werewolf dug his claws through your arm, Stiles. Those aren’t just stupid scratches.”

He glares at him. “They don’t know that!”

When Derek laughs, his eyes brighten. Looking at him is so much better than staring at the buffalo. “No, they think it was a mountain lion, which is just as bad.”

Instead of swooning, Stiles folds himself back against his pillows and crosses his arms, careful not to bump the bandages covering most of his right arm. “Listen, buddy, you may think you’re cute, but let me be the first person to tell you that you’re not.”

Derek pouts, but his lips are twitching, giving away his amusement. “I don’t know, I think I’m pretty cute.”

Blowing the air out of his mouth in a huff, Stiles says, “Nope, not at all.”

A wicked grin pulls at Derek’s mouth, and when he cocks one eyebrow in Stiles’ direction, Stiles can feel how it makes his heart race. “Do you wanna know something funny about werewolves?” He leans forward in the chair, purposefully pushing into Stiles’ space. “We can hear the way that your heartbeat stutters when you lie.”

Stiles swallows, pulling his gaze away from where it fell to Derek’s lips. His eyes are dark, and when Stiles licks at his lips, Derek follows the movement. “I-.”

Before he can say anything more, the door to his room is pushed open. By the time the nurse steps inside, Derek is sitting back in the chair, looking way too smug. Stiles glares at him.

“Hello, Stiles,” the nurse greets, voice kind. “How are you doing today?”

Stiles settles back in bed, sighing in an over dramatic way. “Nancy,” he whines. “When do I get to leave?”

Having already spent a few days as his nurse, Nancy is used to the dramatics. She laughs at his whiny tone. “Soon. The doctor wants to check on the stitches again before your discharged, but then you and your boyfriend can go home.”

Derek looks over at him, expression impossible to read. But he doesn’t say anything to correct Nancy, and neither does Stiles. Instead he keeps quiet as Nancy checks his vitals and takes notes on her clipboard. When she’s done, she smiles at Stiles and promises, “The doctor will be in soon, okay. You’ll get out of here today, I promise.”

He nods at her, grateful that he’s finally being discharged. Before she leaves, Derek calls out and stops her. “Hey, Nancy?” She lingers in the doorway, looking back at him curiously. “Do you know if they switch the pictures out in these rooms?”

Stiles gaps at him, warmth curling in his gut. Derek was really paying attention to him earlier, and he thought it was important enough to ask. For him. It’s-. Stiles isn’t used to having people do nice things for him, not like that. He ducks his head down, hiding his smile in his chest. 

“Yes, we switch out the pictures. Usually the hospital will donate them or put them up for auction after a year or so, though some of them do end up in storage. Why?”

He smiles at her. “I was just curious about it, that’s all.” 

Looking slightly dazed, Nancy nods and leaves the room. When the door is shut again, Stiles looks over at him. He feels off balance and bashful, which is something that he isn’t really used to. “Thank you.”

Derek just smiles at him, looking pleased and entirely earnest when he says, “Any time.”

—————

“You’re going back to New York?” Stiles reaches out and grabs at one of the dining room chairs, trying to steady himself. Laura is leaning against the counter, her expression closed off and impossible to read. The rest of the house is empty.

“Did you think we were going to stay?” All of the emotion has bled from her voice. Stiles feels like choking. He hasn’t let himself consider what would happen now that Peter was dead and Laura was safe. Sure, a part of him knew that they would have to go back. But he can’t imagine letting them go. Not now.

“I-. When?”

She’s watching him closely, and he tries to close himself off the same way that she has; he doesn’t think it works. “I got a plane ticket for tomorrow,” she says after a moment. “There’s no point in dragging it out.” 

Gods, the way that she says it makes Stiles’ chest constrict. But he won’t let her see that. He can’t. “Cool. Good. Awesome. Well, if you need any help packing, let me know alright.” He takes a step back, trying to put some distance between him and her and what she’s saying.

“Stiles.” When she says his name, it’s impossible for Stiles not stop. “After the fire, after all of the bodies were found and buried, I took Derek and ran. Beacon Hills has always been Hale territory. It had always been our home. So when everything burned to the ground, I knew we couldn’t stay. There were too many memories. Every street corner reminded me of what we had lost. The air here tasted like ash and sorrow.”

She moves forward and folds herself down into one of the chairs. Stiles hates that it still looks like she belongs here. 

“New York was the perfect place to hide. With so many people and so much hustle and bustle, we found ourselves again. I went to college and Derek finished high school, and we grieved until we were able to move on. But I never thought about coming back to this place, not once. Beacon Hills was my home. This land belonged to my mother, and the previous Hale alphas before her. I didn’t want to come back here and lose all of the progress that we made.”

She smiles slightly, her expression opening up and warming as she watches him. “And then I got this weird call from a stranger with an area code I knew too well. And he brought me back to this place, made me face all of my memories and an uncle that I had forgotten.” Her smile falls away, and her eyes darken. “Now another member of my family is dead, killed by my own hands. Beacon Hills has brought me nothing but heartache.”

He understands. He really does, and he doesn’t blame her for wanting to get as far away from this place as possible. He doesn’t know if he would be able to stay either. And he definitely can’t expect her to stay for him. That wouldn’t be fair.

“Do you want to know what I learned coming back here?” She meets his gaze head on, eyes hard. “I learned that forgetting about something and moving on doesn’t make it go away. Running to New York and starting over didn’t make my grief go away. Leaving Peter behind didn’t protect him or us, all it did was create more problems. Staying away from Beacon Hills didn’t make it feel any less like home.” He blinks at her, not really understanding. 

“I have made a life in New York, one that I worked hard for. There are things back there that I need to take care of.” A smile splits her face. “Besides, the house won’t be ready for at least six months. That gives me plenty of time to make sure everything in New York is taken care of.”

Stiles stumbles into the chair across from her. “Wait. The house? Here? You’re coming back here?”

Reaching across the table, Laura sits up her chair and rubs Stiles’ head. “Stiles, let me tell you something about werewolves. We’re pack animals. And pack isn’t just family. For so long, it’s only been Derek and I. But during this week you carved your way into our pack, into our family. And that’s not something either of us are willing to let go of; we’ve already lost too many people.”

He feels so much better, knowing that they’re planning to stay. But, “What about everything you were just saying? About Beacon Hills being a place full of bad memories?”

“A lot of bad things happened here, but this is still our home. As soon as I walked back into town, my wolf settled down. The land here has always been protected by Hales, and I’ve avoided my duty for long enough. This is where Derek and I belong. And, so long as you’re not freaked out about having two overprotective werewolves hanging around, we belong with you too.”

“You’re my pack,” he says, and even though he’s not a werewolf, it feels good saying it. Laura beams at him, letting her hand come to rest over his. Moments later, Stiles hears the front door opening. Then Derek is striding through the door. When he sees their hands clasped, he scowls at Laura and, if Stiles’ isn’t mistaken, growls. Laura laughs at him. 

“You missed it, little bro. I just told Stiles the good news.” He doesn’t look away from their hands, and Stiles doesn’t look away from him. It makes Laura roll her eyes. “I told him that we’re staying. And he totally agreed to be in our pack.” Derek doesn’t respond, and Laura sighs. “Gods, you too are hopeless.” Standing up, Laura uses her grip on Stiles’ hand to tug him to his feet as well. “Here,” she shoves Stiles until he stumbles into Derek, who catches him with ease. “Why don’t you two discuss how great it is that we’re sticking around. I’m going to go pack my things.”

With that she struts out of the room, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence. 

When Stiles turns to look at Derek. His cheeks are flushed, but his arms around Stiles tighten. 

“So,” Stiles says, clearing his throat. “You’re staying in Beacon Hills.” Derek nods. “Cool. That’s cool.”

Derek’s head tilts to the side. He must be listening to Laura, and whatever she says has him sputtering. Surprisingly, it clears the awkward feeling in Stiles’ chest. “You guys are so cool.”

That makes Derek pout. “Laura is not cool.”

Raising his eyebrows and fighting a wave of fondness, Stiles asks, “Oh?”

As if finally realizing that he still has his arms around Stiles, Derek lets him go and steps back. “Not at all.” He blows out a puff of air. “But-. Well, she’s not wrong either.”

Stiles feels like he’s missed something important. “Wrong about what?”

Laughing in a slightly manic way, Derek steps around Stiles and over to the counter, leaning against it like Laura had been only minutes before. “About you. And that I need to - be honest. About you.”

A sudden anxiety seizes Stiles. One part of him is elated and excited about hearing what Derek has to say. The other part of him is convinced that his heart is about to be broken. “What about me?”

“Stiles, I-. I don’t want this to change anything, understand. I can’t-. If I’m going to be honest about this, I need you to know that this doesn’t have to change anything.” He growls, “Shut up, Laura. Let me do this myself.”

When he looks back at Stiles, he rolls his eyes. “Older sisters are a pain in the-“

“Hey!” Laura hollers loud enough to be heard from the second story of the house. 

Despite the interruption, Derek watches Stiles seriously. “Stiles, I-. Shit, when did this get so hard. “I like you, alright? More than just as pack mates. Do you understand?”

Stiles blinks at him. “You know, I thought that you had game.” The sentence is said nonchalantly, in spite of his racing heart and spinning mind. 

Derek scowls at him. “I change my mind. This is dumb.”

Stiles laughs, loud and vibrant. “Nope, no take backs. You like like me.”

“Oh Gods. Shut up Laura. This is absurd.”

Reaching out for him, Stiles is amazed when Derek allows himself to be pulled forward into a hug. “I like you too, if you couldn’t tell.”

There’s a brilliant smile teasing Derek’s lips up. “Good. I-. That’s good.”

Laura peeks her head into the room, scowling at both of them. “You both are hopeless, you know that. It’s actually disgusting listening to this unfold. Can’t you just kiss and get it over with like normal people?”

“Laura!”

“You know,” Stiles says in a conversational tone. “You are a very nosy alpha.”

Tipping forward, Laura grips the doorframe and laughs until tears roll over her cheeks. “I love you so much, Stiles. You’re great. And yes, for your information, I am nosy. So can you guys kiss and decide to date exclusively or whatever, I’ll skip the big sister threats and get back to packing.”

Rolling his eyes, Stiles turns to Derek and presses their lips together. He means it to be a quick kiss, a statement of intent more than anything else to get Laura off of their backs. But Derek’s hand slips around the back of his neck, holding him close. And then Derek’s tongue is in Stiles’ mouth, and Stiles forgets his name. It’s weird. Stiles spent years dreaming about his first kiss (aside from the one he had with Heather in her basement when they were twelve). He always imagined strawberry blond curls twined around his fingers and the smell of coconut in his nose. Instead Derek is a solid weight against him. His hands are large as he holds Stiles close, and when Stiles’ hand wanders to the back of Derek’s head, his fingers grip short black hairs, making Derek groan into the kiss.

It’s even better than he ever could have anticipated.

When they finally separate, it takes Stiles a moment to gather his bearings before he turns to grin at Laura. She’s disappeared though. 

“Okay,” Stiles says, looking back over at Derek. “Maybe you do have some game.” 

Derek rolls his eyes, but his expression is fond. Then he gets serious. “Listen, I’m not the best when it comes to relationships. I-. Well, it’s been a while since I’ve even wanted to try with someone. But I want this with you, Stiles. I want to date you.”

Stiles knocks their heads together lightly. He knows that there’s a story there; even though Derek’s never mentioned it, he’s noticed the lost looks he gets sometimes. He’s not going to bring it up though, that will be something that Derek can share if and when he feels comfortable. “I’ve never been in a relationship before,” he admits. “But, Gods Derek, I want to date you too. I want to hold your hand and cuddle with you when we watch movies.” He grins, waggling his eyebrows in a salacious way. “And the making out is pretty nice too.”

Tipping his head back, a joyous laughter makes Derek’s body shake. Stiles can feel every vibration in his chest, and he’s struck with the sudden realization just how much he’s already fallen for the werewolf standing in front of him. He’s always been an all or nothing type of guy, so honestly it’s nothing new. Sure, maybe it should scare him, but it doesn’t. Not at all. In fact, all the realization does is make the warm happy feeling grow. 

Maybe neither himself nor Derek knows what it’s like to be in a relationship. But they’ll figure it out together, one step at a time. For now, Stiles is more than happy enough to pull Derek down for another kiss. 

—————

Hours later, they’re sitting in Stiles’ room, repacking Derek’s things when Derek clears his throat. “You know,” he says in a forcefully neutral tone. “I don’t have to go with Laura back to New York.” Stiles snaps his gaze off of the duffle bag on the floor to stare at Derek in shock. Derek doesn’t look at him, but a smile is pulling at him lips. “She can handle everything there herself, and I can work on getting us settled in here.”

Excitement makes Stiles beam. “Really? You mean it?”

Finally Derek turns to look at him. There’s a tentative hopefulness on his face. “Yeah. I mean, if you’d be interested in keeping me around.”

Crossing the room, Stiles lowers himself into Derek’s lap, enjoying the way that Derek automatically loops his arms around Stiles’ waist. It feels so natural, and Stiles marvels at that fact, “You know I am,” he says, laughing when Derek rests his head on Stiles’ shoulder.

“I don’t know. Maybe you only like me for my sister.”

Stiles snorts. “No offense to Laura, but you are definitely the more attractive Hale.”

Something smacks against the wall. “I heard that, you asshole,” Laura yells.

Even though she can’t see it, Stiles sticks his tongue out in her direction. “I was hoping you would,” he yells back, cackling when she throws something else against the wall. 

He turns back to Derek. “I’m serious though. I would love it if you stayed. Why wouldn’t I want to spend more time with you? You don’t know how much I was dreading losing you.”

It’s absurd, but the words make Derek blush. “Good. That’s-.” He stops to clear his throat. “That’s good.”

Stiles marvels at how sweet and shy Derek can be, and that the fact that despite his rough edges, he wants to spend time with Stiles anyway. 

“You guys are gross,” Laura yells. 

Derek rolls his eyes. “We’re not even doing anything yet, Laura!”

Stiles laughs, warmth curling in his chest at the prospect of ‘yet.’ Gods, Stiles loves these two who, under the strangest of circumstances have become his family, his pack.

—————

Stiles is sitting on his bed when she arrives, flickering into existence in the middle of the room just like she always does. 

When she sees him, Talia smiles. “Stiles.” Her voice already gives away her appreciation. “Thank you. You saved her.”

He frowns at her. “I’ll have you know, you freaked me out so bad last year. Next time you want to warn me about something, maybe try to approach the topic with less screaming. That would be appreciated.”

She laughs, melodic and calm. “You figured it out though, didn’t you?”

He rolls his eyes at her, getting to his feet. “Well I couldn’t very well let anything happen to your family, could I?”

“Thank you. Thinking about Peter killing her, while I was unable to help, it was destroying me.”

“I know. I get it.” He pauses. “A heads up about the whole werewolf thing would have been nice too. Why couldn’t you have mentioned that while you were raving. Do you see these scars? While they look bad ass now, it hurt like hell when a mystical being put his claws in me.”

His exaggerated outrage makes her chuckle. “Blame years of keeping it a secret, I suppose. Old habits die hard, wouldn’t you say.”

“Your death humor is a little gruesome, just so you know.”

Talia rolls her eyes. “Please, you and I both know that you like it. Now, tell me about your year. Did you quit lacrosse? Does your arm still hurt?”

He shakes his head, trying not to give anything away as he moves toward his bedroom door. “Nah. No pain, no gain, right. But listen, I want to try something new this year. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, and-. Well, you’ll see.”

Before she can ask any questions, Stiles pulls open his bedroom door. Waiting on the other side, pressed close together, Laura and Derek stand still as they catch sight of their dead mother for the first time in years. 

Laura’s mouth quivers, and Stiles is stuck once more with how much she looks like Talia. She steps into the room first, approaching Talia slowly, as though waiting for her to disappear right before her eyes. Talia stands still waiting for her. Her hand is pressed to her lips, and Stiles can see that she’s shaking. 

“Mom?” Her voice breaks on the word, and Talia steps towards her. 

“Oh, Laura. My precious Laura.”

While they reunite, Stiles turns to look at where Derek remains frozen in the doorway. There are tears streaking across his cheeks, and Stiles hates that he looks so heartbroken. “This was a bad idea,” Derek says, taking a step back. His eyes move around the room as though searching for the quickest exit, and he looks ready to bolt. 

“Derek.” Talia’s voice is wet with tears, making Derek freeze in place. Her hand is outstretched towards him. “Derek, please.”

Choking on a sob, Derek steps into the room and joins Laura in front of their mother. He looks like he wants to hug her, and Stiles knows without a doubt that he does, but Talia’s form isn’t quite solid enough for that. Still, Talia brings her hand up and runs it just over the space above Derek’s cheek. “Oh, love,” she breathes, tears making her cheeks glisten. Stiles steps out of the room then, leaving Derek and Laura with their mother. 

John is sitting at the table with a cup of tea, looking at yesterday’s newspaper, and Stiles takes a minute to appreciate that he still has him in his life. “You’re freaking me out,” John says, peeking at him over the paper’s edge. “Are you going to stand there all night?”

Snorting, Stiles ignores the question and begins the process of making himself some tea. He’s just pouring the boiling water into his mug when Derek calls out his name. 

John smiles at him. “It sounds like you’re being summoned. Better not keep him waiting.” The statement is filled with fond teasing. He turns back to his paper then, though he does add, “Have fun,” without looking back up.

Stiles takes his mug and goes back upstairs to his bedroom. Laura is sprawled at Talia’s feet, telling her mom about New York and how loud it was there. Derek is sitting on the bed crisscross, looking at Talia like she hung the moon. When Stiles joins them, Derek gestures for him to come over. He takes Stiles’ mug while Stiles folds himself down in the space beside him, then reaches for his hand. Talia notices how their fingers twine together, and she gives Stiles a look that he can decipher from years of knowing her. She’s happy for him, and happy that her son found someone he can love again. 

Stiles feels contentment wash over him. Stiles knows that he’ll never have a chance to talk to his mother again. He’s had plenty of time to come to terms with that, and even though it hurt at first, it’s something that he’s okay with now.

But as the moon rises on yet another Halloween, Stiles is happy that he’s given Laura and Derek a chance to talk to Talia again. It’s more than enough for him, sitting on his bed, listening to the people he loves talk about their lives. It’s more than enough, being allowed to be a part of this family. 

Derek brings their hands up to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss against Stiles’ wrist. Stiles curls closer to him, abruptly spilling his tea on the both the bed and Derek. And while Derek pouts and flinches away from the steaming liquid, Talia ’s laughter lights up the night. 

And Stiles is happy.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for say seven of Sterek Week 2019, for the Halloween prompt.


End file.
